LEED Gold Certified 11 Times Square Lands New Tenant

Global Food International Corp., a worldwide supplier of food to chain restaurants, has signed a long-term lease for half the retail space at 11 Times Square. The 40-story, LEED Gold-certified skyscraper in midtown Manhattan was completed in May 2010 by Parsippany-based developer SJS Properties and the real estate investment unit of Prudential Financial Inc.

Global Food International Corp., a worldwide supplier of food to chain restaurants, has signed a long-term lease for half the retail space at 11 Times Square. The 40-story, LEED Gold-certified skyscraper in midtown Manhattan was completed in May 2010 by Parsippany-based developer SJS Properties and the real estate investment unit of Prudential Financial Inc. RKF Founder and Chief Executive Robert K. Futterman and Vice President Joshua Strauss represented SJP Properties in the transaction, while the new tenant was represented by Colliers International Vice Chairman James Emden, Senior Managing Director Robert Koslow and Director Dmitry Levkov.

Sources familiar with the transaction revealed the new tenant plans to open a two-level international restaurant on the 25,000 square feet of space it will occupy on the building’s ground floor and mezzanine. Designed by famed architecture firm HLW International and scheduled to open in 2013, the state-of-the-art dining establishment will have an open-kitchen layout—adding an interactive element to the diner’s experience.

The 1.1 million-square-foot building located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan is one of New York City’s top office towers and serves as a western gateway to Times Square, known internationally as “the crossroads of the world.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, 11 Times Square has been sitting almost 60 percent vacant since the date of completion, when law firm Proskauer Rose LLP signed a deal for 406,400 square feet of space and became the anchor tenant. A significantly smaller deal was signed in May 2011, when another law firm—Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman LLP—leased 17,144 square feet in the building.

The new deal is expected to lure more tenants into the building as, according to SJP Properties CEO Steven J. Pozycki, 11 Times Square’s strategic location provides retail tenants with high visibility and access to an exceptional customer base.